Face Down
by Immorura
Summary: There's a reason behind everything and there's a reason why Stephanie must keep to herself. Written with The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus song reference. CONTAINS strong language, violence and sensitive subject matter.


Tainted tears stained the delicate skin; leaving a trail of black behind them.

Stephanie took a deep breath as she stared at herself in the bathroom mirror, her eyes red and puffy.

She turned on the tap, picked up a hand towel and a bar of soap before scrubbing her face clean of makeup.

After splashing away the suds, she looked back in the mirror. That morning she had spent over an hour coating on foundation, blusher, lipstick and mascara. She had been doing it for several weeks now.

When the mask of powder and grease was removed, it unveiled the truth.

A cut was embedded into her lower lip, a deep scratch ran across her cheek and a large black and blue bruise blemished the corner of her forehead.

Stephanie kept telling herself, _"It's never going to happen again…"_

But not even her own bluff could convince her otherwise. She could cover up with makeup in front of the mirror every morning until she returned home and cried alone.

At first nobody noticed her unusual appearance at the bonds office until Lula's sharp eyes noticed the red of her lipstick.

"_Stephanie, are you colour blind?! The only time I've seen that shade of red lipstick was in a circus! Yo' not gonna get your hair dyed orange again too, are ya?" _

_Stephanie gave a shaky laugh. "Jeez Lula, I just picked up a bad shade of lipstick….The rest of my face is good though, right?" _

_Her heart had begun to pound as her colourful and slightly egotistical friend studied her._

"_Yeah I guess so. You look good with black mascara and pink cheeks but try a crimson shade next time you go shoppin' for lipstick." _

She had mastered disguising her cuts and bruises but she didn't know whether she could keep it up or- after some miracle- it would all end.

After all, Joe wasn't a bad guy. Despite his determinations to be nothing like his old man, the stress and sleepless nights caused by the chaos at the Police Department soon forced him to turn to alcohol for relief.

Even when he kissed her, several weeks earlier, Stephanie could taste and smell the strong whiskey on his breath.

She thought the blood shot eyes were due to insomnia. She thought the shaking and anxiety was because of the hassle he had to deal with while on duty. And she thought the sweating was from him constantly being on his feet.

But Stephanie had failed to notice the empty bottles lying under his coffee table until his fist first sent her face down to the floor.

_The tears escaped as she felt her cheek throb with pain that pounded like a rapid heartbeat. _

_A collection of empty bottles caught her eye as she lifted her head. They were all tinted brown with labels that read 'Booker's', 'Red Stag', 'Old Crow', 'Cabin Still' and 'Early Times'. _

_Stephanie dared to peer up at Joe. _

_He stood statue still with shock in his eyes as his fist still lingered in front of him. _

"_Mother of God…." He whispered. _

_Joe fell to his knees, pulled Stephanie to him and crushed her against his chest. _

"_Cupcake…I'm so sorry…I…I…I don't know w-what got into me…" _

_He released her to hold her face in his hands. After wiping away the tears, he started kissing her repeatedly. _

"_Stephanie…f-forgive me…please…I didn't mean too…I'll never do it again…I swear cupcake…I love you…" _

_And of course, she believed him. _

But three weeks had passed and Joe continued to drink himself into oblivion and used Stephanie to take out his anger either physically or verbally.

And yet no one had a clue.

A lot of the cops at PTD were stressed and overworked and sometimes went to the bar a couple of times a week at the end of a hard day. Joe didn't seem any different apart from the smell of whiskey that clung to him.

But even when he was sober, Stephanie had a new injury to hide or had to endure a few vile words aimed at her.

And yet, she carried on with a modified work routine: got up, went to work, found a skip, got the cash, bought lunch, saw Joe and went home.

She barely saw her parents and only went over to dinner when her mother called or if her grandma needed a ride.

_And Ranger…_

Stephanie didn't know how he would react so she tried to avoid him as best as she could.

She didn't know who she could trust.

If she went to confide in her mother, grandmother or father, _The Burg _would hear and the whole thing would spread like wild fire.

It wouldn't be just her family who would be plagued by the blether. Stephanie might not have been too fond of Mama Morelli but she knew she had a difficult time with the abuse and gossip about her late-alcoholic-husband. Did she really need to know her son had followed in his footsteps?

Every action in the world had a consequence.

She looked at herself in the mirror to study Joe's latest handy work before looking down at the long sleeved t-shirt she wore.

This week had been bad and harder to conceal all down to the help of a bottle of Jack Daniels.

"_For fuck's sake, Stephanie!" Joe bellowed, slamming the empty whiskey bottle to the floor. Pieces of broken glass scattering everywhere. "Your last skip was older than my grandmother and you couldn't even take him down?!" _

"_He had a gun and I wasn't going to scare an old guy with cataracts Joe! Besides, I convinced him to go down to the Police Department without threatening to put a bullet through him." Stephanie argued despite the thundering her heart made. "Besides, he was clean and I probably did him a favour getting the cops and everyone off his butt." _

_Joe froze as he stared at her with a glint of ire in his eye. _

"_And anyway, he turned out to be a nice guy. He even apologised for shooting at me and throwing the ash from his fireplace in my face." _

_He stalked towards her, his fingers twitching. _

"_Joe? What are you doing?" _

_He didn't reply. He kept advancing on her until she could smell the whiskey coming off of him. Stephanie attempted to back away but only made it 2 steps when he seized her by the arms and started to shake her violently. _

"_YOU THINK IT'S FUNNY TAKING THE FUCKING PISS OUT OF COPS?! HAVE YOU ANY IDEA WHAT I'VE HAD TO DEAL WITH OVER THE LAST FEW FUCKING MONTHS?!" He screamed in her face._

"_Joe you're hurting me!" _

_But his grip only tightened. "HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I SEEN YOU GOING THROUGH THE NIGHT WIDE AWAKE?! HOW MANY FUCKING ASSHOLES HAVE YOU HAD TO TAKE DOWN?! AND YOU CALL YOURSELF A GOD DAMN BOUNTY HUNTER?!" _

"_I saved your ass from rotting in jail didn't I?!" _

_Big mistake. _

_His left hand skinned across her cheek, leaving an angry scratch. Stephanie glared up at him with tears pooling in her eyes before fighting against his grasp. _

"_Get off me Joe!" _

_She squealed as she felt his fist pound against her head. Joe dug his fingers into her arms again and threw her onto the floor, making her narrowly miss the pile of broken glass. _

_Stephanie managed to scurry a few feet away from him before he grabbed her ankle and wretched her back to send his fist repeatedly into her against any part he could reach with her only hope being someone would hear her screams._

"_JOE! STOP!" _

_And he did. _

_He stood as though paralysed above her. His face masked with disbelief. But Stephanie didn't wait for his apologies or excuses. She stumbled to her feet and ran out the front door, frantically pulling out her car keys. _

She let the tears slide down her cheeks as she rubbed her arms; wincing slightly as she moved.

She closed her eyes and let out a sigh, feeling a sob knot in her throat as she tried to supress it.

Stephanie let the silence fill the morbid aura as she slowly felt her spirit break in two. What could she do besides let herself drown in her sorrows or let Joe either finish her or himself off?

Her eyes snapped open when her ears picked up the sound of the locks of her front door tumbling. The tapping of footsteps soon followed as did the drumming of her rapid heart.

_But then the back of her neck tingled…_

"_Babe…"_

She side glanced to see Ranger standing in the doorway before letting her hair curtain over her face.

"…Hey."

There was silence was few moments until Stephanie felt his hand on her shoulder; flinching suddenly at the contact while the other gently cupped the side of her face.

Ranger carefully brought her eyes to meet his and she didn't miss the flash of anger that shone in his dark brown orbs.

Her lips parted in an attempt to explain with a weak excuse but he interrupted her before she could speak.

"Don't lied to me. I already know and don't bother trying to defend him. You know what he has done is wrong. He's supposed to love you."

"I know…" She croaked. "He doesn't mean to do it…but I know it's no excuse…"

Stephanie closed her eyes as she supressed the ache of a sob that threatened to escape her throat. Fresh, hot tears slipped through her eyelids. "I don't know what to do…"

She felt Ranger's strong arms around her; she winced sharply as he pressed her against him. Ranger held her at arms' length with an enraged look in his eye as he grabbed the hem of her shirt and tugged it over her head before she could protest.

Trenton's Batman was known for his face being clean of any emotion and even Stephanie was surprised to see the reactions of shock, rage and torment in his expression as his eyes scanned her black and blue chest, stomach and arms. He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and turned her around.

She heard him take in a breath. Her back must have been as bad as her front – or worse.

Ranger turned her back to face him and handed her shirt back. "I need a minute…" He said and walked out the bathroom.

Stephanie stared after him before tugging her shirt back on and wiped away the stray tears.

As promised, he reappeared and placed a comforting arm around her shoulders before guiding her into the living room.

"How did you know?" She asked.

Ranger looked at her with a sad haze in his brown spheres. "I've seen it." He sat down on the sofa and pulled her on to his lap before enveloping her into an embrace.

"I noticed you had been avoiding me. When I talked about it with Tank, some of the others, Connie and Lula, they agreed it wasn't like you to do so. We were worried… _I _was worried so I kept track of you and when you were at Morelli's yesterday…" He didn't need to finish his sentence. "But Babe, how long has this been going on for?"

Stephanie looked away from him and shook her head sadly. There was no point in denying it.

"Weeks...The first time he hit me…he…he had several bottles of whisky…but he told me he was sorry and that he didn't mean to do it and…and said he loved me…" She took a deep breath. "And of course I was stupid enough to believe him…"

He rubbed her back lightly. "Why didn't you tell anyone? Why didn't you tell me or Tank or Lula?"

"I wanted to tell somebody but my options were limited. If I told my family, the whole Burg would know. Think what it would put mine and Joe's mother through."

Ranger placed a kiss on cheek. "It doesn't mean you have to suffer, Babe."

She nodded. "But even when he's sober…he…he…"

"_What?!" _

Stephanie flinched as he growled that single word.

Noticing he had frightened her, Ranger held her closer to him and stroked her hair with her head resting on his shoulder.

"You mean…even when he's not drunk…he takes his anger out on you?"

She nodded solemnly. More tears fell freely down her face and soaked into his shirt. "I've had enough. I want a new life, Carlos, a fresh start. I don't know why I've put up with it for this long…"

From the corner of her eye, she noticed the corners of his lips twitch into a brief smile when she said his real name.

Ranger tilted her chin with one finger so the brown and blue locked into an unbreakable gaze. "It's not too late, Babe. If you'll let me…I can help you."

She blinked at him. "Really?"

The smile reappeared before he pressed his lips to hers.

New tears threatened to spill. It seemed like a lifetime since she had felt any affection from a man. Stephanie had forgotten how soft and gentle his kisses were and how softly and gently he treated _her_.

They parted for breath before smiling at each other with a placid warmness. But a dark figure standing in the archway of the front door caught her eye; the warmth turned to cold fear.

Ranger looked in Stephanie's direction as vibes of hate and anger began to penetrate the atmosphere.

Joe stepped into the living room with slow and deliberate steps. Ranger placed Stephanie on her feet before standing in front of her in a readied position of defence.

Stephanie felt the unshed tears pool in her eyes as she timidly held on to his arm; peering around him like a small child behind her father's leg.

"Cupcake," Joe began with an eerie calmness in his voice that made her gulp. "Would you explain to me why I found you kissing Manoso on your couch?"

She didn't reply. Her heart started to throw itself against her ribcage.

"And would you explain to me, why you decide to beat the crap out of her and cover her whole body in bruises?!" Ranger snarled, his fists clenching.

"You stay out of this!" Joe yelled, stepping closer to him. "It's not like you've never beaten up anyone else!"

Stephanie let go of his arm as he placed his hands on his hips. "I won't deny that I am violent when I am forced to be, but I have never - in my entire life – laid a finger out of anger on someone weaker than me or on someone I love."

She felt her heart flutter at that last part but Joe's face had become a mask of malice.

"It's still none of your business!"

Ranger moved forward a step closer. "Part of my job is to protect people who need defending and I _make it_ my business when it involves Stephanie!"

Stephanie noticed Joe's fingers curl. She wanted to be as close to Ranger as possible but her legs were rooted to the spot.

"By doing what? Smooching her_?!_"His dark eyes switched to her. "But I didn't see you putting up much of a fight, Cupcake._ You seemed to forget whose girlfriend you are…"_

"Can you remember all the times I've saved _your girlfriend_?" Ranger hissed softly, leaning forwards. "Like the time when she was thrown off a bridge, almost left for dead in a graveyard and all those times she had been kidnapped with either a knife to her throat or a gun pointed at her head?"

"_What are you trying to say?"_

"I'm saying I don't put my ass on the line keeping Stephanie out of harm's way for you to pound her when your pissed!"

Joe inhaled a deep breath. He held his head high and straightened his shoulders back. "She knows I don't mean to do it…She knows I love her…It's the whiskey that makes me lose control…."

"_Bullshit!_ She's already told me you've done it when your sober!" Ranger stepped closer so they were only a foot apart. "Tell me Morelli, do you feel like a man when you push her around? Do you feel better when she falls to the ground?"

"Of course I don't! Stephanie knows too!"

Ranger shook his head. "Well, I'll tell you pal," He sighed. "As your lies crumble down, you'll realise what you've lost."

A set of footsteps echoed in the hall and Tank, Lester and Bobby walked in with hard expressions. Like their boss, they all stood around them in defending positions – alert and ready. Stephanie didn't miss the glances they gave her way.

"Is there a reason you called us, Boss?" Tank asked.

"Yes." Ranger replied. "But I wasn't expecting Officer Morelli to be here since he's the reason for this."

Joe scowled. "What do you mean _the reason for this?" _

He ignored him. "Have any of you noticed how Stephanie had been avoiding some people who are close to her? Like her family, friends and us for instance?"

"Yeah and especially you, Carlos." Replied Lester.

Bobby and Tank nodded.

Ranger turned to Stephanie with gentle eyes. He approached her before placing a hand on her back and guided her closer to his men. Their eyes widened slightly as they took in the injuries on her face before giving threatening looks in Joe's direction.

"Oh come on!" Joe groaned. "It's not that serious, nothing's broken and she doesn't have a black eye or anything!"

"_Babe," _Ranger said kindly. "Can you show them?"

"Show us what?!"

Stephanie bit her lip but nodded slowly before taking hold of the hem of her shirt and pulled it over her head.

"_Holy Mother of God!" _Tank exclaimed while Bobby and Lester gaped at her with their mouths hanging open.

Joe stood statue still without a word as his eyes roamed her blackened body.

"It doesn't get any better." Ranger muttered. "Turn around, Babe."

She closed her eyes and did as he said.

"_Christ almighty!"_ she heardBobby cry. "I've seen bruises that big on guys who have been hit by trucks! She's got them up to her shoulder-blades!"

"You can put your shirt back on, Babe." Ranger said gently. He placed an arm around her after she did so before giving Joe a hard glare. "I saw you do it, Morelli. So don't deny it."

Joe looked at Stephanie. "Cupcake…did I…did I…?"

"Yes. You did. And you nearly brained me with a whiskey bottle. Don't you even remember it happening?" She asked, feeling the tears pool in her eyes.

"Not much…that's why I came over. All I can remember is us yelling about a guy with cataracts…then you yelling me to stop…and…then I woke up on the couch and finding broken glass on the floor. I was worried something happened to you."

Stephanie sighed. "The whole thing has been going on for weeks, Joe. Whether you were pissed or sober, you always had a reason to take your anger out on me and then apologise over and over again while declaring you loved me."

"But Steph, I do-"

She shook her head. "No Joe. If you really did love me you would have stopped the first time it started. You don't even know the half of what you put me through. I've kept this all to myself so both our families wouldn't suffer the gossip the blabbermouths at The Berg would spread. Think what you would have put your mother through knowing-"

"_I turned out just like my father…"_ He finished for her, his eyes pained with comprehension.

"Yes. Although the only difference is you had your reasons to turn to alcohol for relief. I know you never meant to do any of this to me, Joe, but…but I've had enough. I think we should stop seeing each other."

He didn't look surprised. "I understand, Cupcake." He nodded and turned towards the front door.

"Hang on, Morelli." Ranger said. "Don't think we're going to end it like this."

Joe glared at him over his shoulder. "What now? Are your thugs gonna pin me down while you pound me to a pulp?!"

"Believe me, Morelli. There's nothing more than I want than to beat the crap out of you until you can't even think straight. But I'm not going to. This isn't the first time we've had someone in your situation."

He looked over at Bobby and nodded.

Bobby stepped closer towards Joe. "Joseph. I understand that you, in particular, have been having a hard time while you're at work being a PD and all. By the look of you: dark circles, bags under the eyes and pale complexion, you've had some sleepless nights too. Believe it or not, but some of our own guys had become alcoholics because of what they had to deal with."

Joe blinked at him. "What are you saying?"

"There's a support programme that specialises in cases Rangeman employees deal with that are exactly like your own." Bobby glanced at Ranger. "Carlos is willing to pay for you to have specialists like counsellors and doctors to help you recover for as long as it takes.

"Sick notes will be written to your boss at the Police Department so there'll be no need to worry about your job, counsellors will be provided 24/7 if you ever need to talk and -for circumstances with alcohol dependences- you'll be put on a highly effective detoxification programme that'll have you clean in 2 weeks – tops. All you have to do is agree to check in."

Joe stared with disbelief. His eyes switched to Ranger. "You're willing to fork out cash to help me?"

Ranger nodded. "Also, we can make it as though none of this has ever happened by making it look as though you just needed some time off and help due to stress. No one will know what you've done to Stephanie."

An expression of uncertainty adapted his face. Joe shook his head. "But….but why…why would you shell out your own money on me after…after all I've done?"

The corners of Ranger's lips twitched as though he was trying to hide a smirk. "My first plan was to clobber you into a coma, but I know Stephanie still cares about you and the last thing I want to do is upset her. So Morelli, will you agree to check in?"

He didn't respond straight away. The 2 of them watched one another for several moments before he finally spoke.

"Only on one condition."

"What's that?"

Joe switched his eyes to Stephanie. "That you keep on taking care of her; like I never did."

Tears ran down her cheeks.

Ranger nodded. "Of course."

He looked at his men. "Take him to HQ. We'll start in the morning. Bobby?"

"I'll come back to check Steph over." Bobby confirmed before joining Tank and Lester in escorting Joe out the door and closing it behind him.

Stephanie looked up at Ranger. Her watery, blue orbs shining with wonder. "Thank you." She whispered.

He smiled and held her face with both hands; wiping away the tear stains with his thumbs.

"Anything for you, Babe," He whispered before carefully wrapping his arms around her as she entwined hers around his waist.

Stephanie closed her eyes with a contented smile.

_This doesn't hurt. _She thought.

A new life she had found.


End file.
